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Sabbatical!

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be taking a sabbatical from ONE/Northwest, beginning around July 20th and lasting through early November!

After 13 years at ONE/Northwest, I’m feeling a little fatigued. Worse, I feel like I’ve become disconnected from the wellspring of inspiration that makes social change work possible. I need to simultaneously unplug and reconnect.

I plan to use this time to relax, recharge, do some hiking, take some photos, read a bunch, talk with lots of folks and refill the idea-tank that has sustained my journey in the environmental and open-source movements over the past decade. Of course, I don’t expect to find much of that inspiration in my navel, so I hope to be buying many of you coffee, beer and/or ice cream in the next few months, or at the very least to hit you up on Skype.[1]

I’m profoundly grateful to ONE/Northwest for getting a sabbatical policy in place and allowing me to beta test it.[2] Time to recharge is an incredible gift, and it’s an amazing feeling to be part of such a supportive team and to know that the work will be in such great hands while I’m gone.

A few logistical notes:

My ONE/Northwest email will continue to work, although I will be checking it much less frequently. Please feel free to email me (jonstahl at gmail.com) if you need to reach me. I’m eager to hear about what is exciting and inspiring you to change the world.

Dave Averill is ONE/Northwest’s main point of intake for new work, so if you’re not sure who to talk to at ONE/Northwest about something, he’s a great starting point. (davida at onenw.org)

Plone community friends: I’ll continue to serve in my role as Plone Foundation board president, and I look forward to seeing you at Plone Conference 2009 in Budapest this October!

Be seeing you!

[1] If that plan sounds a little vague, you’re right! My plan is to have no plan for at least a few weeks. I know many of you have taken sabbaticals: if there’s something I absolutely must do (or avoid doing), I’d love to hear about it!

[2] I hope we follow in the footsteps of Sightline Institute and make sabbaticals mandatory. That’s hardcore sustainability!

Glad to see you preempting burnout or disillusionment, and glad to see One/NW being enlightened enough to let you do it. It’s something many more people and organisations should be doing, and few have the guts or foresight to do.

That sounds great! As a past sabbatical taker, having no plans is actually pretty important. No plans, no goals besides rest and recharge. Amazing things happen anyway. A sabbatical is how I got on this crazy nonprofit technology ride in the first place. 🙂

I think a non-recharge goal such as learning to bake a perfect apple pie, roast your own coffee, master sourdough baking, become a better bike mechanic is a great way to spend some of your time. The more apparently not useful the project, the better – I mean – you can get good coffee, bike repair, apple pie almost anywhere. But having the opportunity to master something small like that strikes me as a great way to dive into your time away.

Jon
Congratulations on the sabbatical.
I’ve been consistently impressed and grateful for your always helpful voice in the Plone world.
My last major Plone event was the Seattle conference, which was absolutely excellent in every way. (Wish I could make such conferences a way of life, but real life is rather offline these days…)
I don’t expect you’ll be out looking for eagles on the upper Mississippi, but feel free to drop a line if you’re in the area 😉